2. Make sure that it is YOUR OWN work and that if you use other authors please be sure to quote and/or cite the material appropriately. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and you will receive an "F" automatically for the examination.
3. The test is due NO LATER than April 19th at midnite.
3a. Each answer should be at least three paragraphs long, if possible.
__________________________________________________________________
4. What is your real name?
Cherie Lynn Kohler
5. What is your "user" name?
Cherie-yahoo, Momii-blogger
6. What is your email address that you use for this class?
cherie.kohler@yahoo.com
7. Name and address for your website.
mytuscansun4@blogspot.com
8. Have you done all the reading for the entire class?
Yes, I have read all the articles.
9. Have you watched each of the films that were required?
Yes, I have watched all the films and lectures.
10. What was your midterm grade? Or, if you revised it, your revised midterm grade? Provide a LINK to your midterm.
I received an email that said that I was on the "A tract" going into the final. The link for my midterm is mytuscansun4@blogspot.com
11. Please place here all of the postings you have done for this class (you can copy and paste them. ALL SIX WEEKS OF POSTINGS.)
To the class, thank you so much, I have enjoyed reading all your postings, I think it's almost to seven hundred now. It has been fun reading and seeing the different opinions that we all have. I'm so glad that I get to take a break from the reading though, it's been tough,not to mention the hours watching videos. I'm curious if any of you would sit and talk to your computers as you were listening to some of the lecturers? My husband got a good laugh occasionally.To Professor Lane, thank you for finding all this information and assembling it for us, I know I would have never looked for it. It's been fun going through your surfing videos, they are all pretty cool.Good luck and enjoy.Cherie
Posted by momii at Friday, April 18, 2008 0 comments
Beyond Belief 9
This was the best conference so far and it is all because of Mr. Melvin Konner. I loved it when he stood up and said that he basically stopped believing in God when he was ten, then he finished with the analogy of a physician. This is basically what I have been saying from the beginning of class. Stop arguing about it, some of are believers and some of us are not. It is okay to disagree, we do not have anything to prove to each other. There is going to be a middle ground someday, where we can all meet and have conversations about all of it. We just need to be patient and respectful until we reach that point so that we do not do irreparable damage to each other.
Posted by momii at Friday, April 18, 2008 0 comments
17 April 2008
Richard Dawkins: Frequently asked questions
Well I think I dislike Mr. Dawkins as much as I dislike Mr. Weinberg. I disagree with the majority of his ideas, and thoughts. I believe there is a purpose to all of us, and that we are able to evolve is definitely a positive thing. Just the way we have all changed in this century is truly amazing and awe inspiring. If we can not be proud of the changes, why do we bother. Maybe Mr. Dawkins needs to live without some comforts in his life so that he can remember why we keep trying to improve ourselves. I also do not believe that things are mutations, just because we may not understand why something is the way it is. I happen to think giraffes are beautiful animals and that their long necks serve them not us. I also don't think that genes have anything to do with certain behaviors, I think the behaviors come from the conditions in which the individual lives. All and all it was my least favorite article.
Posted by momii at Thursday, April 17, 2008 0 comments
James Watson DNA and the Brain
What a wonderful man, he seems so patient, and good humored. What an interesting life he has led. It was fascinating to find out that he was only 23 years old when he discovered the double helix with Mr. Crick. I don't think this lecture even begins to touch on this mans life and life works. The amount of things he has experienced and discovered is phenomenal. I would like to know if the study they have been doing on DNA in regards to Autism is only because of the funding they received or if there was some fact that caused them to start with that. I also think it is good that he sees the sciences joining together, it will be better if the scientist can work together on the discoveries, and not worry about being the first to discover, because I think it would go faster.
Posted by momii at Thursday, April 17, 2008 0 comments
15 April 2008
Philosophy in Less than Five Minutes
These videos are great. I never learned how to do these in school so now I have my son trying to teach me. The second five videos are just as good as the first, however they are alittle more abstract. I had to watch a couple of them a couple times to try and understand the meanings behind them.In Existentialism- I found my favorite quote, "Freedom is what you do with what has been done to you." I love it.In Fundamentalism, A mental disease- I basically disagreed with this entire video. Creationism is not taught by those who can't think, but I'm beginning to think that Evolution is being taught by close minded scientists!Truth Lies- I think that we all need a purpose otherwise what are we doing. We wake up each morning with some idea of how we would like our day to go and usually it goes a different way. But by the end of the day we can look back over the day and see what was accomplished. Maybe God invented us to give himself purpose!!Survival of the sufficient- I think that if survival of the fittest, or natural selection were completely true then we would be seeing less and less birth defects, mental illness, and other such things. I think that survival of the sufficient is a much better explanation. The reason that bacteria thrives so well is that it is sufficient in multiplying,nature gives us the wiggle room.A Glorious piece of meat- What comes first neurons or awareness? This is funny because it can not be answered just like the chicken or the egg. The brain is a funny thing, it gives us abilities that have not even been discovered yet. Deju, memories, intuition, we will probably never fully understand the workings of it. But what a ride its going to be.
Posted by momii at Tuesday, April 15, 2008 0 comments
Intelligent Design
This article seemed to be a collection of complaints about why Intelligent Design should not be taught in school. I disagree with this view if for no other reason than it is a form of censorship. Student need to be taught about all the options so that they can grow and make intelligent decisions on their own. Things change so quickly in our world, that we need to be given some information before it can be proven beyond a shadow of doubt. That's okay though because we change also, just a few years back everyone did not walk around with a phone in their ear. Even people that have been studying science their entire life can change or broaden their views. It wouldn't be unacceptable for others to do the same whether it was for or against Intelligent design should not matter. The information should be given, and people can choose what they want to believe, investigate, or discard. We are all responsible for our own actions and the consequences that we may suffer because of our actions. Schools are teaching children different things each year as we learn more and discover more. It would be okay if they taught Intelligent Design in school along with all the other theories.
Posted by momii at Tuesday, April 15, 2008 0 comments
Gospel of Unbelief
That's exactly how I felt when I realized I had to read another book by this man. I'm so opposite of this man that I have a hard time having to write about him. Comparing Christians to herd animals, sympathy for weakness, and that pity is a bad thing???? Sympathy, compassion, empathy are traits that I very much value and admire in people. It in no way makes these people weak or less valuable as a human being. It takes great courage and a strong will and personality to hold on to the very qualities that make us human.Mankind can prove him wrong over and over and he will not be able to recognize it because of his closed mindedness.I realize that there have been many wars fought over religion, and many people have sacrificed their lives in the name of their religion but I believe that those people fought and died for what they believed in. I do not condone their ways but I respect their right to choose their beliefs, whether I understand them or not. I also believe that the people that choose morality and values over living like animals are making the right choice. Humans are flawed, but that is what contributes to our originality and our ability to be above other animals on this earth.
Posted by momii at Tuesday, April 15, 2008 0 comments
14 April 2008
Beyond Good and Evil
Well, I will never cease to be surprised. I'm not sure where I should begin with this one. It took me four days to read this entire assignment because I had to keep going back to see if I had read it correctly or misunderstood it. I think that I agree with maybe two points he made, but because there is so much I disagree with I'm alittle afraid to get started here. The first point that I would say that I can agree with is the "will". I have always believed that we have free will and that we make calculated decisions with our will. Some people use it for good and some people use it for bad. The second thing that I feel the same about is when he spoke about judging actions based on the spirit behind the action verse the motive. I don't however feel that that applies to all actions. In this area we completely disagree and I would have to say that any respect for this mans viewpoint is completely gone.I don't believe that I have ever read anything that had so much negativity in it ever before. I'm not sure I could even point out something that I thought he had any good feelings for with the exception of maybe himself. He wrote about how he feels that "God is dead", and that people need something to believe in, and that people wanting power want people to see things their way. That is exactly what I would say about him, and that I hope he does not have many followers. I don't believe I will be reading anything of his very soon.
Posted by momii at Monday, April 14, 2008 0 comments
08 April 2008
John Polkinghorne
"A Divine mind behind the wondrous and beautiful world." This from a man that spent his life using the scientific method, searching for explanations to many more things than the average person will ever come in contact with. I completely agree with Mr. Polkinghorne, the universe is such a finely tuned, unique, reaction. I completely agree with scientific reasoning also, but I still think that there are things that can not be completely explained, and even if they are explained the conditions that have to be just right for them, or the unpredictablity of things, proves that the world can't be contained or controlled.I believe that the divine being has an avid interest in us. Look how we have an interest in us, anyone watched any reality television lately? I like the combination of the Religious belief and the Science belief.They make me feel comfortable, and they can compliment each other.Humans are a very arrogant animal and we need to understand that it is okay to not figure everything out.
Posted by momii at Tuesday, April 08, 2008 0 comments
Philosophy in less than five minutes
These are so fun!!! I love the old cartoons, I bet most of this class has never seen them before.Matter- This was cool because it was like the neural surfer broke in and took over the broadcast, it would be great if science teachers could use this to teach about protons and electrons.Crop Circles- I don't know about this one!! I have a really hard time believing a man or a group of men can go out and make these seemingly perfect figures in the corn. I don't know if I can believe that aliens made them but I think that if people were doing it someone would have caught them by now.Consciousness- This said it all,"Philosophy is like heartburn-Something that didn't digest well".Flame On!- This was my least favorite out of all ten.Inner Visions and running trains- This was a good film to go with Faqir Chands belief that peoples minds produces the visions we need to help us survive, as in the case of the men in the army.Great break from all the reading.
I'm curious to find out others opinions. I currently work in a high school as an aide to a young man with muscular dystrophy. One of his classes is earth science. I took this class when I attended high school over twenty years ago. The information given to the students today is far different than anything told to my generation. Science has advanced so far,and technology also.What my question is, that the majority of people that have or come from strong religious backgrounds are older, or come from an older family,with the exception of course of the born again Christians, so do you think it is harder for us older generation to now question our faith because of the new information? And do you think that it stubbornness, or fear of change that makes it harder, or lack of education?
Posted by momii at Tuesday, April 08, 2008 0 comments
Eckankar
I think it is a noble thing that people do when they expose something that was once very important to them. You have to remember that for some reason they were searching for something to believe in, they joined a group for their own personal reasons, then something happens that makes them leave. They don't have to tell anyone, or even admit to having taken part in it. The fact Professor Lane is willing to stand up and be heard is important to the people that may look to join later. Even if he only stops one person from joining, then he has made a difference. The risk to himself and his family is unacceptable and these people should be made to stop. I find it amazing that Professor Lane can be sued but no one has made these groups prove their claims. They receive all kinds of money from unsuspecting people (followers), who feel closer to whatever by sending people money. I think these types of religions should be let the buyer beware. Who can truly believe that these "new" religions are more real than the ones that have been around forever? Thank you Professor Lane.
Posted by momii at Tuesday, April 08, 2008 0 comments
31 March 2008
Beyond Belief Session 7
Mahzarin Banaji has been my favorite speaker so far. I am also very interested in Sociology because humans amaze me each and every day. In no other species do we see such conflict or saying one thing and behaving in a completely different way. Ms. Banaji's remark about, "When you study human beings you see very little of God", struck home for me. In my search for my own faith, it was amazing to me how people would go out into society and behave in very non God Like behaviors, then show up Sunday to church and confession and truly feel like they were forgiven. Sincerity did not seem to play a part in their though process whatsoever. This raises a big question to me about the morality. I think that most scientists have a problem with this because it can not possibly be an exact science for this reason. Our ability as humans to get different interpretations from what we learn and read is mind boggling. Two people read the same text and come up with completely different conclusions. This goes against scientific methods completely. I think in Loyal Rues lecture he puts his finger right on the cause of this. We all come from different backgrounds, religious beliefs. Our traditions, and stories come from the same source but are expressed in completely different ways. Each religion has a base of a supreme or all seeing and knowing entity. Then from there the rules, expectations, rituals all begin to differ, then they come around again at the end to be good enough to end up in the final place. I also agree with him that it is a lot of work to keep it together, if it wasn't would we all value it so much??
Posted by momii at Monday, March 31, 2008 0 comments
Beyond Belief Session 6
Out of all the sessions so far 6 and 7 have been my favorite. I like all the speakers and there thought have been the most interesting to me. I'm not sure if it is because I'm beginning to think about things in a different way or if it is because I have finally figured out how to listen to the speakers with better ears.I think that faith has a lot to do with our morality. If we choose to be morally good people then we want to be validated for our"Good behavior", God will reward us. If we choose to walk down the other road then we don't need validation because we would be making choices for our own best interest and we would receive the rewards from our self gratification. This is pretty interesting to me because on a day to day basis, as I make decisions in my life, when I actually at the moment decide to do something or not do something, I don't feel like I concentrate on how that will affect me in God's eyes. That comes later, as I'm regretting or pleased with a decision, then I thank God, or ask his forgiveness for my poor choice.I do not feel after watching over half of these sessions of Beyond Belief that we need religion to maintain ethics, and that is because of the people participating in the conference. For the most part they were all very ethical, moral, and thoughtful people, and most of them do not feel or practice religion.
Posted by momii at Monday, March 31, 2008 0 comments
Mark Juergensmeyer
I found this lecture interesting on many different levels. He is an excellent speaker and I did not feel like I had sat for an hour listening to him because he kind of captivates you with his candor and honesty. I love that he was able to ask the question, "What are the goals America has for being in Iraq?". This is a question we all should be asking ourselves and our government. I am always against war unless it is to protect our way of life here in America. If someone asks us for help we should help in a non conflict and non violent way if at all possible. In Iraq we should have gone in asked who would like to leave, escort them out, and shut down the borders. If they choose to live the way they want, that should be fine with us as long as they live that way in their country. If they choose to live in another way they should be allowed to leave. I think it is very interesting that the belief of the people from these countries is so different from what we are told here. I am an American, but I am also intelligent enough to know that we are not given all the information, and that we are told what someone thinks we should know. We all need to look with better eyes. If these things were happening in our country would we not fight back also?? I would not want people from foreign places coming into America and telling me how I should behave, what I should believe, or who should be in control. There has to be a way to open up communication so that the best interest of the people can be carefully and thoughtfully restored to a peaceful and harmonious way of life. There have been wars for centuries fought in the name of God, is this truly what he hoped for? I can't believe it is. I choose to believe he would want to have us grow into people that can use words and understanding for our fellow humanity, and find a way to co exist on this small planet. I really feel that this is Mr. Juergensmeyer's goal also. Communicate our beliefs and needs to each other and in a respectful way figure out how to make it work.
Posted by momii at Monday, March 31, 2008 0 comments
29 March 2008
Introduction to Critical Thinking
I must admit that at the beginning I thought critical thinking was just to teach us how to argue. Which by the way I try to avoid at almost all costs. I must also admit that I will consciously choose to not question somethings because I do not want to argue about it. I feel life is to short, to sweat the stuff that other people believe. For example if you believe in religion or not, I truly believe it is a personal choice that others need not concern themselves with. It is however very important to treat others with respect and consideration whether or not you agree with them. I don't believe that you can live a good, and productive life by making others feel uncomfortable with their choices or hurting them in any way. I believe it is really okay to disagree with others.I do completely agree with the teaching of Critical Thinking and I believe that many teachers especially in elementary are only giving information. I have had the privilege of working in two classrooms at the high school however, with exceptional teachers. I couldn't put my finger on what I thought was so different with them until now. They both use these teaching techniques. Also they treat all the students with respect, and expectations that are obtainable for their level. By expectations I mean that the students have complete understanding of what they need to do to be successful in these classes as far as behaviour, homework, and attendance. They also provide a safe learning environment for the students to ask questions, and receive tutoring if needed. There is no teasing or demeaning for asking a question. Basically the only dumb question, is the question not asked.
Posted by momii at Saturday, March 29, 2008 0 comments
28 March 2008
Edgar Cayce and the Skeptic
I liked this review of Kenneth Johnson's, book, "Edgar Cayce in Context:The readings:Truth and Fiction". It gave an open minded review of the author and his work. I think that this is important because a review should not be totally the reviewers opinion for or against, but it should give the reader an idea about what the book is about.I think the main point for me was the fact that Edgar Cayce seems to do good for many people. I'm not sure if he does this for profit but the fact that he is not trying to harm people makes a big difference to me , especially if he is wanting to continue to do it. If his paranormal or psychic powers can be proved or not, I'm not sure that truly matters. Maybe we focus to much on the things that may never be explained. I found it interesting that Cayce was endorsed from two well known people that usually don't support mystic claims. I believe that people that have experience or exposure in a particular area are good sources, to at least start our investigation with.
Posted by momii at Friday, March 28, 2008 0 comments
The Guru File
I'm not sure I understood the point of bring up the fact that McWilliams participated in something when she was younger and before her husband had any political connections. We all have "skeletons" in our closet that we may not be proud of or that we would rather people did not find out about. Part of us evolving into the people that we are has to do with mistakes we've made growing up. I didn't hear anything about her hurting anyone. It seemed to me also that the reporters dwell on the past instead of finding out information on things she was currently involved with. The interview with Professor Lane was pretty cool. It's not often that you get to see your teacher actually doing what he or she teaches. I tend to agree with you on the subjects of cults. I don't know if they just get bad publicity or if in fact they all have the same types of issues, but it seems like they all turn bad eventually. Hitler, Manson, Jones Town, they all had huge followings and they all turned bad. Does anyone else see a pattern here?
Posted by momii at Friday, March 28, 2008 0 comments
Thakar Singh
This is unbelievable!! There were so many children there, and do they really start this practice of blindfolding them from birth? They didn't show any of them on the film clip so I'm hoping that was a misunderstanding. But even the kids they did show did not look well. Most of them looked like they were nodding off until a woman would walk by them and shake their heads. This must be legal in their country because it looked like the camera was out in the open and not hidden also. The children must be socially handicapped when they are release from this procedure. Not being able to interact with each other or the adults, not being able to see anything or anyone. If what the one woman said was true about the abuse these poor children probably do not even know what is happening to them. This blind following has always amazed me, there must be people that have seen the things being done, where are they and why are they not trying to save these children?? Do the parent of these children participate in this also? In the town meeting he made jokes and seemed light hearted, I wonder if they allowed him to build his compound or if they saw through him like it seemed. I believe that people could benefit from learning some forms of meditation, for relaxation, healing, and to calm themselves, but everything needs to be done with caution and knowledge. Just like, let the buyer needs to be aware, so should the spiritual seekers.
Posted by momii at Friday, March 28, 2008 0 comments
Sathya Sai Baba's Trick
I have never been able to figure this out. I don't understand why there are so many people willing and able to fall prey under these types of supposed religious or spiritual leaders. As i looked at the crowd of people around him there was not a common factor. They were multicultural, different ages, male and female. There has got to be something that they all have in common that allows them to follow a person like this. I can not figure out what they see in him. He doesn't even look like someone I would trust.With film like this that show the slight of hand you would think that the authorities could put a stop to these types of people. And nothing is said about it, but I bet all the nice envelopes he was collecting were full of donations also. Shame on those people for thinking that a donation could make them closer to god through this person.
In the film clip, The Secret of Faqir, I think the message basically was that there is no higher or divine being, there is only yourself, and the impressions you have. To me this means that we create all of our own beliefs to satisfy the emotional and physical needs of our self. We create a God to give us a reason to behave in a way that makes us feel good about our self. If we happen to meditate and there is a specific person that inspires us we may visualize them during meditation or possibly dreaming. Just like early people worshipped idols or statues, which they made, to feel closer or more true to their belief.The secret that Faqir feels he has found is that it is all of our own creation, all of the different God's that people worship were created by themselves, that our minds provide us with what we need to perform in a way that we can individually handle. This actually is a pretty cool thing that we are able to do, if in fact that is what it is of course.
Posted by momii at Sunday, March 23, 2008 0 comments
Nicholas of Cusa
This very, very short film is an interesting symbol. I think it can possibly mean things to different people, but for me it was like your spirit taking flight and then possibly returning, maybe symbolizing reincarnation, or maybe even your consciousness taking a short trip, like during meditation. Probably for some people it reminded them of kites that they use to see flying on the beach when they were younger. I think it would be cool to read everyone's impression of it though. I think there is going to be huge differences.The music was very cool and went well with the short film. This one is a little harder to write about because of the shortness of it.
Posted by momii at Sunday, March 23, 2008 0 comments
Beyond Belief 3
So far this was the best session for me. These have been very hard for me to watch because I don't like the conflict. I think that these people spend so much time thinking about all of this when do they have time to do anything else. However I really enjoyed Carolyn. I believe that she pointed out some interesting facts, like hoe people fear death and that we all want to believe in something greater than ourselves.I also enjoy listening to Sam, I think he is an excellent speaker and even though I don't agree with most of his viewpoints I enjoy listening to him explain them and I can see some valid points. I like the way he discusses his disagreements also because he is cordial and talk about facts not just opinions. I think that the setup where speakers can come back up to defend, explain or question is good also.
Posted by momii at Sunday, March 23, 2008 0 comments
18 March 2008
Why I am not a Christian
In our universe there needs to be balance. It's the same for religion, you need good and bad, heaven and hell. In everyday life we make choices, part of what helps us to choose is the consequences of those choices. The main thing that separates us is our ability to choose. If we choose to do good we will be rewarded, if we choose to do bad we will be punished. The thing that seems to be missing in all of the articles is the forgiveness factor. The gift of forgiveness is a huge part of the concept. We can be forgiven for so many things, by recognizing our mistakes and asking for forgiveness we set ourselves apart from other species.In this article Mr. Russell seems to believe in many things about religion, but he doesn't seem to believe it is something outside of us, instead he believes it comes from inside and that organized religion actually hinders us by keeping us from advancing. He believes that we need to stand for ourselves and that we should strive to make the world better than it is.
Posted by momii at Tuesday, March 18, 2008 0 comments
17 March 2008
Pretext Part two
Consciousness, is this the same as Soul?? Nueral net referring to the scientist trying to explain everything versus the Pure Spirit. I liked to be in the middle somewhere if I could, I would like to understand but without compromising my belief system. The qualities that make up the conscious include family, exposure to society, and the area you live or grow up in. These contributions make up the people we are and what we will become. The transcending I'm not so sure about, I know I love to dream and travel in my sleep, many people are able to deeply daydream, to the point where they don't seem to be inside themselves. I'm not sure what the answer would be to find out or prove if this is truly possible, but I have heard stories about out of body experiences. One was a person suffering a heart attack in an emergency room and they felt themselves leave their body and watch from above. They could tell you exactly what the doctors had done and said, how would they prove it? Who are we to question it? I would have to say that I think I agree with Wilbur, that the Spirit, Human Spirit, is the basis for all matter.
Posted by momii at Monday, March 17, 2008 0 comments
Pretext/Text/Context Part one
The main theme of this article was that you should break things down when you analyze them, but to not go so far that you lose the meaning,context, of the book, or article. It is possible to break things down so far that you won't be able to make sense of it. You need to review each piece by piece to be able to weave it back together for complete understanding, comprehension. I agree with the paragraph that states,"Science tends towards reductionism", I think that science tries so hard to come up with explanations sometimes that it is detrimental to our society. The advancements that we have gained are wonderful, but we should continue to be cautious.It would be good for all of us if Science and religion could find a comfortable middle ground on which to share space. It surprises me to find the article talking down other sciences like sociology, chemistry, and physics. Does one field not respect the others? It's like one religion not respecting another? I did like the metaphors at the end of the article.
I found this article very hard to follow. Some of the ideas didn't make sense to me, however, I think that the article refers to our different levels of consciousness. My understanding is that UfO's are not truly aliens but our levels of consciousness crossing over into each other. He feels that we don't see things around us as it really is, but we each see it differently depending on our own biological anatomies.This is interesting to me because in sociology there is a term, cultural relativism, that could be applied to this. Each culture has different levels of beliefs in religion, space, and on earth. So, maybe if we are a more spiritual being, we would see things on these different levels. This is so confusing to me because I do tend to believe in different realms or levels, but I never thought to try and explain it. I do believe that there should be others out there but i don't know if I believe in the "alien" idea.
Posted by momii at Wednesday, March 12, 2008 0 comments
11 March 2008
Eleven
This is a very good short film on hate crimes. I have absolutely no tolerance for this type of behavior. I was very angry about 9/11 also but never did I consider going after people here in our country. The way some people can justify their behavior is amazing to me. The irony that even the second attack was not really what Samir wanted makes me sick. We need to look at the bigger picture and be able to control our anger to find a way to solve these problems. The group Eleven could probably come up with some good ideas if they would apply themselves to a more useful activity. Also, if they want to hurt people so badly there are plenty of opportunities, join the service and go over to fight in the war. We don't need to start a war here.
Posted by momii at Tuesday, March 11, 2008 0 comments
10 March 2008
A Field Guide to Critical Thinking
In a Field Guide to Critical Thinking by James Lett, he has come up with a scientific method for being a skeptic. He calls it "FiLCHeRS", it has six parts to it including, Falsifiability- meaning you must be able to prove it, Logic- The argument or discussion must make sense, Comprehensiveness- All evidence must be examined to the pro and con of the question, Honesty- The evidence must be looked at with out self deception, Replicability- Any claim must be able to be repeated, and finally, Sufficiency- All evidence must be adequate, he also gives three stipulations, 1. Burden of proof rests upon claimant, 2. extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence, 3. evidence from authority or testimony is inadequate.The part that bothers me the most is the stipulation regarding evidence from authority and or testimony. He makes a statement, "Evidence based upon authority and or testimony is always inadequate for any paranormal claim." This goes against everything our society is about. It goes against our legal system. Testimony from an authority of something, or testimony from an eyewitness is invaluable. If we can send someone to prison or to death based on an eyewitness's report or an authority at something, how could it not be an adequate amount of evidence for something scientific. If someone has actual knowledge about an event or situation we must give validation to this. If the person has proven to be untrustworthy then of course his or her testimony would not be accepted without investigation. These are basic right to all of us and they should be acceptable in the science world.
This by far would be a great teacher to have. To actually show his students how physics can be applied, and to demonstrate in a way to keep all the students attention. We all love to watch magic, and see things done that seem impossible. Most people are happy to enjoy watching and they never feel the need to know how its done. The challenge is going to be to continue to enjoy it after you have it broken down and analyze it. If we do this to all things in our life what would be left? Imagination is a good and wonderful activity to participate in.The teaching style of David Willey should be taught to teacher across the United States. To create a more inquisitive student would be beneficial to our world. The teachers that just talk at the students are doing us a disservice. Creative thinkers could change the way our world works. All students should be exposed in a positive way to a class that teaches questioning. It should be taught at a much younger age than critical thinking in college at 18 years old.
Posted by momii at Sunday, March 09, 2008 0 comments
08 March 2008
Would our society be a better place without religion?
This question never entered my mind before I started reading all of the information from this class. I find myself wondering constantly about all these people that seem to be spending their lives trying to convince everyone that they are right. Why?? What purpose it it serving, to themselves or to the other people they seem to be questioning? What is their ultimate motive, is it really to find truth, or is it because they can't find their own faith or something to believe in for themselves? In my experience growing up, people usually only attack others because they see a weakness. How many thousands of years will the religious fight have to go on before someone realizes that Faith is stronger. It doesn't matter to a faithful person if you can prove God exists because they believe he does. They know it in their hearts without a doubt.I feel that it is OK to blend science with religion, as long as neither try to hurt the other. Science plays a key role in our development as a society. We need to science to continue to find ways to keep people health, protect our world from destruction, and find technology that will protect us from harm. We don't need science to pick away at the foundations of some of the people in order to prove them wrong. In general, the rule for scientific study should ask, is this going to better our society or is it going to hurt them. Choice is what separates us.
Posted by momii at Saturday, March 08, 2008 0 comments
Karma
This short film was good. I liked the way it was filmed, as each person bumped into the main character he had a moment of insight into their past. This film used a little paranormal psychic ability to get it's point across which I found to be interesting after all the other articles we've read. I think the film could have been made without all the violence but it got it's point across.I would have to say that I am a believer in Karma also because I do believe what goes around comes around. I don't think that it usually happens right away, but that eventually, people will get back what they have given. I do think that it is unfortunate that most of us don't realize when we are being paid back though, this would help us to learn a lesson or two and to hopefully become a better person for it.
Posted by momii at Saturday, March 08, 2008 0 comments
Should Skeptical Inquiry be Applied to Religion
Skeptical Inquiry is interesting to me because of how much time some people put into it. There are a lot of things in this world that I don't know about, but there are so many things I must know how I would find that amount of time that some people put into inquiry. I guess my big question is why do these people, the skeptics, care if others believe in religion or not. If each person put more time into acceptance of others, as they are, without trying to change them, would it not be easier to get along. I am a religious person, I attend church and I believe in treating people with kindness and respect. It does not matter to me what race, religion, color, or background they have. I don't have to agree with all their beliefs, I don't have to participate in them but I can accept their right to choose. I also feel like there are things in our world that can not, and should not be explained. A woman's intuition, a feeling of apprehension, love.I totally disagree with the author regarding the paranormal also. There are many respected psychics that help people everyday, including the ones that assist police officers. Science can't explain how they are able to do this but it is a fact that they do . The statement that stands out to me the most was under the sub title How to Deal with the Transcendental?, "The scientific naturalist argues that we should seek natural causes and explanations for paranormal and religious phenomena, that we should never abandon scientific methodology, and that we should endeavor to test all claims by reference to justifying evidence and reasons." I think it is interesting how strongly they feel about this, just like a religious person feels strongly about their faith, and that they should never abandon it.
Posted by momii at Saturday, March 08, 2008 0 comments
06 March 2008
Viruses of the Mind
Santa, a virus, this is a far leap for me to believe. The thing about Santa is teaching the ability to believe. Belief in something good, not the commercialized Christmas and Santa but the gift of giving of ones self to another. Don't agree, that's OK because the overall feeling of happiness that comes with giving far exceeds the the alternative. Some viruses may be good to catch, especially in our world today. Also, some viruses make us stronger by building our immune system. I think it takes a lot more work to anger a happy person than one that is unhappy. There definitely is nothing wrong with spreading the thought process that we should be kind, responsible, thoughtful human beings. Whether it's religion, Santa, the Tooth fairy, or another idea that can teach people kindness, empathy, or understanding, I for one intend to spread this virus copiously in my family, immediate and extended.The attitude Mr. Dawkins seems to have in this article is sad to me. The way he compares epidemiology and behavior with facts that our society chooses to participate in is so negative. What difference does it make in the big picture, if we played with a Hula Hoop or wore bell bottom pants? I think some people spend way to much time criticizing things and people instead of allowing them to choose without condemnation. It concerns me more that he doesn't focus more on the negative "Viruses".He mentioned the Jonestown incident, where not all the people committed suicide but they were forced to drink or injected. He could have brought up Nazi Germany, this would have been the closest example to how society can be contaminated by a negative "virus. Why not question that type of behavior and stop worrying about fads, fairy tales, or religion, which leaves most people feeling better about themselves and others.
Posted by momii at Thursday, March 06, 2008 0 comments
What is Cold Reading
The main point to me was the fact that someone listened. Even though they listened for financial gain and not because they cared necessarily, the people would leave feeling better. Cold Reading would be a great skill to possess because it could help us in everyday life in all aspects. Imagine if you could cold read your boss, or your spouse. Our everyday lives are so hectic we barely get a chance to ask for what we need let alone have someone see our pain, happiness, or financial need. I do feel that some people have the have the ability to feel or sense things about others, whether it's supernatural or not is the question.
Posted by momii at Thursday, March 06, 2008 0 comments
05 March 2008
Beyond Belief I
Well this was interesting! I was wondering when I was going to get to an idea that I would have a hard time accepting. Steven Weinberg, I found to be very insulting and closed minded. He seemed to be very educated but the sarcasm and negativity must come from somewhere or something that happened in his past. I found Dr. Krauss to be easier to listen to and even though I don't necessarily agree with all of his views on religion and science I was able to listen with an open mind. The concept of Science enriching faith is the way I would like to see us progress. I also like the fact that science is based on honesty, this is a quality that I value very much. The third speaker I found to be the most interesting, Sam Harrison. Although I did not agree with the majority of what he said, I felt his thoughts were the most clear. My feelings on how he used the term, The will of God, is where I disagreed the most. In my understanding, the will of God is that we were all put here, with the varied abilities that we each have, and that out of all the animals in the world, we were given free will or free choice. His will was for us to come here to learn and to experience many things. I don't believe that we can say, "Oh, I lost my job, it must be the will of God.", we have to take responsibility for our choices and decisions. The one major point he spoke about that I also feel strongly about was the fact that Violence is born from religion. Thinking back even to the crusades, Germany, present day Iraq, this is so true. I want to think that the fighting makes sense because the people fighting feel so strongly about it. However, I can't honestly justify it because I believe that free will and free choice give each person the right to choose what they believe and that we should not judge anyone else for their choices.
Posted by momii at Wednesday, March 05, 2008 0 comments
Bertrand Russel
I was surprised that this video was so short so I listened to a couple others to get a better feel for Mr. Bertrand. The short video on Clarity and Exact Thinking was to short. I would like to hear more of the interview if there was more. I have to agree with what he said in the context that I saw. He explained something that bothers me on a daily basis. Predujice is something that I do not think that we should be tolerant of in any way. I know that we all have strong feelings about people and things in our world that we might not approve of, but we should take into consideration our own behaviors. I think that the clarity and exact thinking is not a skill that would come easily to very many people. It would be an admirable quality for people to have though. If we all could work at it a little each day the improvement to our society would be measurable. People would become more comfortable around each other. Self esteem and self worth would be improved, and public relations would be better across the board. If we could all be understanding of our differences, and more accepting of each other, the world would be a better place.
Posted by momii at Wednesday, March 05, 2008 0 comments
Richard Feynman
The Pleasure of Finding Things OutI found this to be a very interesting video, I had never heard of Mr. Fenyman before the reading assignment. I enjoyed his casual way, and how he seemed so honest. His natural inquisitive nature has led him down a wonderful path in his lifetime. There are so many things in this world that this applies to. Mr. Fenyman just takes it to a whole new level or dimension. I don't believe that we all have this ability that seems to come very naturally to him. It sounds like he was raised in an environment that fostered his curiosity, and encouraged to follow his questions to find the answers. His ability to break things down to the smallest parts, is an ability that most people don't have and probably never will. The majority of people I know take things at face value, they never look deeper, not into people, or at things in their everyday life. One example would be the morning sunrise, how long has it been since you have especially gotten out of bed just to see it? Not on the way to work with your mind cluttered with things to do, not because the neighbors dog woke you to early on Sunday morning. I believe that not only would Mr. Fenyman get up to see it but he would also be able to tell you the exact colors as they changed, the angle of the sun in relation to the earth. Some may say that it would take the beauty out of the sunrise, but he sees the beauty in these things that make the sun rise what it is. It was an enjoyable lecture and I would watch or read more about Mr. Fenyman.
Posted by momii at Wednesday, March 05, 2008 0 comments
29 February 2008
Critical Thinking in an Online World
Critical Thinking in an Online World by Debra Jones, had some very interesting ideas in it. My favorite was the statement by the chairman of the SCANS committee, William Brock, "The most effective way to educate our youth is to teach them in the context of real life situations and real problems" (1991, p22). I not only believe this but I think we need to go one more step and include adults in that statement. Technology has surpassed most individuals. As an adult in today's world I feel very unprepared and technology dumb. I was a dewy decimal kid, and my home phone was attached to a wall, we couldn't walk around anywhere with it. I have to admit, I'm wondering now if that was such a bad thing!We have gotten so far off course in our schools in our push to be the best and most capable, that the generation starting college now contains math wizards, computer genius's, and artist's, that can't balance a check book, and wouldn't know how to live on their own without some help. The computer games and search engines are creating a socially challenged society. We should be encouraging use of online information, but in a way that is beneficial to ourselves and others. To do this Debra Jones is correct in saying that we need to be taught how to navigate our way through it. Honestly, what did people do before cell phones, and web surfing??
In reading the Cargo Cult Science by Richard Feynman, I found myself comparing his examples of scientific integrity to everyday integrity. It seems to be getting harder each day to be able to sort through all the useless misinformation we are given each day. I believe that our world as a whole has started to loose integrity in all areas, mass media tries to sell us all useless stuff, not to mention the only information the new media wants us to hear is negative. What ever happened to being honest even if it hurt alittle. I mean don't get me wrong, I do not under any circumstances ever choose to hurt someone verbally if I can avoid it, but to be respected you must be honest. Do any of us believe in the American dream anymore? If everyone would at least attempt to try to be more honest about feelings, beliefs, understanding, just think of the things that could be accomplished. We would all probably not be so tired because we wouldn't be worrying so much or feeling so guilty.My first suggestion would be to eliminate all commercials, could we please not hear about another miracle cleaner. Next we as parents need to start teaching our children, the future adults of our society, the value of honesty and the consequences for dishonesty. If we could get our children to grow into this we would see major changes in our futures. Each step will be an improvement and a step toward understanding, and effective communication. In conclusion I especially liked the title Cargo Cult. It is so true, the amount of junk we are being exposed to everyday. I'm looking forward to seeing the lecture by Mr. Feynman.
12. Why are certain religious zealots prone to use terrorism,according to Professor Mark Juergensmsyer? What does Juergensmeyer believe we should do in the future to mitigate such attacks?
Some religious zealots use terrorism to shake us up and wake us up. The terrorists will choose to do high profile things so that the media will run with it. The more publicity it get the more successful they feel. They believe they are fighting God's war and it doesn't matter to them how long it takes because they believe they will win. Humility of the government is their main immediate goal. According to Mr. Jergensmeyer, they are not really fighting against us as a people, they feel that they are fighting against our government.
The reason these people continue is because they feel they will prevail. They feel there is nothing more important then to fight for religion. They won't take responsibility because it is God's will that they fight. The interesting point is that no one can possibly know God's will, or mind. We all have our own impressions and beliefs. But only God has the answers and we couldn't possible begin to know them. Ultimately we need to respect others and push our government to also show respect and to not just bully other countries into falling in line. We should not ever expect others to believe in the same things as us, and we don't have to agree with them, but we should show them the respect we would expect from them.
13. Is there sufficient evidence to support the claim that Edgar Cayce was psychic? Use your critical thinking field guide to substantiate your answer.
In regards to Mr. Edgar Cayce I feel that most people today are lacking the critical thinking skills to make conclusions on information that is usually irrational and un-supportable. The media contributes to this problem because of our insatiable desire to believe in paranormal activities. Most people whether they believe in paranormal things or not will watch or listen to the claims made by these people. Our desire for it to be real is sometimes greater than our ability to reason. If we are to be able to go through our life, and be able to wade through all the information given to us, then we must use our minds along with our hearts to decide truth from fiction.
If someone makes claims, like Mr. Cayce has, that they can predict or read the events that will happen in the future, then you must be able to question it and test it. The test should be able to prove it true or prove it false. Either way you should be able to come to a conclusion. Even if it is not the conclusion you want or expect. It must also be possible to give a sound argument to support the claim. The argument has to be valid and can not be made on unsound reasoning. All evidence used to support or contradict a claim must be considered and investigated to verify or validate the claim. In all aspects of life honesty should be a given, however we all know this to be increasingly untrue. As you investigate or research these claims you must decide to be honest with your findings. If the evidence supports the claim or contradicts the claim you must honestly admit this information. Any evidence you use to support your claim must be able to be checked or repeated by another person. If the evidence is testable or it could be said that it was a coincidence then you should encourage others to try it. The final step would be that the person claiming to be able to do these things should be able to prove it is true, provide evidence that can be tested, and the evidence can not be provided by someone claiming to be an expert or authority in this area.
These steps should provide you with an ability to prove the claim to be true or false. If the claim is true, great, then you can feel comfortable that you investigated it fully and came to a conclusion. Unfortunately in regards to Mr. Cayce, these steps repeatedly prove the evidence to be false. This does not lessen his affect, positive or negative, on people. So even though he may not be an actual psychic, he has provided many people with peace of mind.
14. Why is your professor so critical of cults?
Professor Lane seems to have a very specific concern regarding cults. But I think that his concern is not just about cults, but also religion and life. He is good at breaking things down and getting to the root or base of it. He has very good intentions and he seems to be responsible in his work. In the article Eckankar: A Former Member Revisits the movement, by Dodie Bellamy, Ms. Bellamy states that , "It may be a game for Lane, but believers are playing for high emotional and intellectual stakes". I think this is very true, especially in religious beliefs, but I don't think Professor Lane necessarily sees it as a game. My understanding of Professor Lanes beliefs are that we should use our critical thinking skills in all areas of our lives. He stated in the article, "We use more discriminating intelligence when we buy a used car than when we buy a religion", this is so true for many people. Over and over again in history we see the blind followers come into the news when another "New Religion" goes bad. Also there are the blind followers of television Evangelist that go broke and lose their homes that we rarely hear about, or even people that die and leave their estate to a group that they had felt close to.
Rational thoughts and behaviors do not always go hand in hand with people when we speak of religion or cults. Professor Lane is doing our community a service by exposing the untruths of these groups. He doesn't go out and attack or harass the people that are searching for a place to belong, but he is exposing valuable information so that the people can be better informed, to make their choices. It is not belief he is critical of, it is blind faith. In a sense let the buyer beware. He is doing nothing wrong in pointing out discrepancies, it is no different then what a history teacher does by pointing out the mistakes we have made over time, or what a scientist does by using the scientific method, or even what a mother does when she gives her children information to navigate through their world. We need people that will take the time to investigate and help better inform us.
It has been proven over and over that cults do not have the peoples best interest at heart. It is about money, control, power, and bullying. People should not be allowed to exploit the public and to ruin their lives or murder them in the name of religion or anything else. Professor Lane has a very clean idea of truth and any group that does not provide the truth should beware, Professor Lane is watching.
15. What do the films reveal about Sai Baba's claim for paranormal powers?
Both of the film shown show that his supposed paranormal powers are nothing but slight of hand. They are not very good films which only goes to support how bad he really is. It can not be possible that all those people there in person did not see this. I did notice that everyone is sitting below him and seem to be looking up at him in some type of awe. But that only puts them closer to his hands. I would also have to wonder if he receives items in the envelopes, from someone planted in the audience, that he then makes miraculously appear.
As I said in my weekly post it is amazing to me that people want to believe in something so much that they will convince themselves to believe someone like this man. There were so many different type of people there. Men, women, young and older, no one seemed to be immune to him. I wish that thee had been sound with the videos, I would have like to hear what he was saying to the people.
I believe that it is very important to stop people like this from exploiting the naivety of others and from taking money from them. I know many people that follow TV Evangelist's and they send money to them thinking that it might possible buy them some favor or miracle cure to some ailment. I also don't believe that this problem is only with religious types of people but there are many chemical companies that target the misguided people into donating or buying products that can't possible do what they are being advertised to do.
16. Why did Thakar Singh believe in blindfolding children? Why do some religious followers lack critical thinking skills?
This entire series of news reports offended me. Thakar Singh should not be allowed in America for any reason, especially since there is actual documentation of his practices. The blindfolding of the children according to a man in one of the video clips is to force the children to turn within for spiritual meditation. This is completely absurd, I don't know if anyone else has children yet in this class, but I have four, and there is no way I could have blindfolded them from birth and gotten away with it, or have taught them anything spiritual from it.
For children to grow they really need to experience life, and to experience life they have to interact with it. The quietness and ability to turn inward in oneself comes from years of experience and understanding of the things around you. My children, 20, 18, 15, and 12 are just now beginning to use their skills to search their inner beings, or personalities and to make educated decisions from the information that they have acquired.
I do not know any of the rule or laws in Thakar's country, but I would definitely question the parents that have allowed this man to treat their children that way. Are the parents even aware of these practices? I think it is possible they don't. Because in America we are shown so many things on the news, it may not be that way there. In conclusion, I think that we all need to work harder to understand others but that we should all stand up for rights and wrongs done to others, especially children, who usually don't have any control over what happens to them.
17. JOHN POLKINGHORNE believes both in religion and science. Why?
John Polkinghorne was my favorite lecture out of the entire course. Believing both in religion and science, he is the perfect example of my own feelings. We agree that many things can be answered or found out by science. Just in his lifetime the changes in technology and the information discovered in the sciences is mind boggling. A divine mind or divine being, people all over the world feel this, even if they can not explain it.
He suggests that there are two reasons that it was all created by God or a divine mind. The first being , Rational Beauty and Transparency, the second, The Law of Nature where just exactly the right things happen to spring life out of it. These are two very good points, rational beauty is being able to understand things but being able to appreciate their beauty, like Mr. Feynman's example of a flower. Most of us take this for granted and never give a thought to the how and whys, we just look and say what a beautiful flower.
In regards to the law of nature, Wow!! One small atom over thirteen billion years ago to us today. It is truly amazing. It was interesting as he talked about God having a divine purpose or if we are below his notice. I've never thought any other way until now, that there is a purpose, divine or not was left up to us. Good, bad, righteous, or not .
I disagree with what Mr. Polkinghorne calls the big problem though, to me it makes the most sense, "Why would God reveal himself to different parts of the world differently?" I don't think that we can possible know what God is thinking but to me the the easiest answer is we are different. Professor Lane uses Occam's Razor theory which is "If you have competing theories, go for the simplest theory first." This is the simplest theory to me, we are different, we come from different areas of the world, we eat different foods, we dress differently, travel differently and it goes on and on. It makes the most sense that we would worship or believe differently. As far as God allowing evil or cancer, I think that it is a necessity to have both sides of the spectrum, we learn to be good by doing some bad and we learn about bad things by experiencing them.
18. How does Nietzsche critique religion? What are his main arguments against a belief in God?
Nietzsche does not just critique religion, he tries to kill it. He refers to competing "wills", and how the will is stronger, so people can see the world their own way. He also said that, "God is dead, science does not replace Christian values, it displaces people that need something to believe in." This cracks me up because we all believe in something! He believes in no God, religion, or the usefulness of sacrifice, or self denial. He also admires people capable of violence, hello?? Does this alarm anyone yet?
He argues that, "Christianity, is more harmful than any other vice. That it allows people a sympathy for the botched and the weak." What he sees as weakness others see as great strength, character, endurance, kindness. These are not easy qualities to come by, it takes hard work, determination, and falling flat on your face sometimes to learn how to be this way. I feel like he really crossed the line when he compared Christians to domesticated animals, herd animals. When a group of people get together, whether it is for a religious reason or an athletic event, football or baseball, common things happen like waiting in line, meeting new people, and large groups of human beings, even if it is only for a couple of hours, with a common desire. This is a great thing if it is for the good of the people involved and uninvolved.
He also argues that a man looses power when he allows himself to pity. I disagree, because a man that has any real power will find a way to not pity someone by fixing the situation. He is not going to allow himself to feel pity so he will fix it. It is part of our nature, some of us anyway. Look at all the Americans and others that contribute to third world countries, and to charities right here in America. These are good things because they help show the people in those situations how to be stronger and to move out of the positions that caused the pity in the first place. So not only is the man with all the power not have to feel pity anymore, but he gets to take credit for making more powerful people in the world.
He makes many accusations like, "A pure soul is a pure lie", this one fact I might agree with under these terms. There may not be a pure soul that we can see or touch or feel, however, we are just humans with very human flaws. But a very large percentage of us believe in morals, virtues, God, salvation, and eternity.
19. Why does James Watson believe that genetics holds the secret for understanding human behavior? Why do some people resist believing that we are just bundles of DNA?
Mr. Watson was wonderful, great personality, patient, and so very knowledgeable that it was cool to listen to him. I don't really feel like his lecture went into detail enough for us to determine the exact reason for why he feels the secret for understanding human behavior, however his discovery and experiments up to now seem to be going in the right direction. His main focus in this lecture seem to be pretty specific to Autism and Aspergers, which please don't get me wrong I would love to see these two conditions removed from human DNA. But I don't feel like he gave enough information. The lecture seem to be held at a Google conference, so I'm sure he was asked to keep it light, but it would have been interesting to see more information.
I think that his studies must have produced invaluable information for him to believe that DNA is going to provide these answers. Just the little that I have learned so far, in regards to DNA, that it is each individuals genetic code to how we are made and what is in us. I really hope that he kept to his three year plan, and that others with the funds are helping to finance his studies.
In regards to people having a hard time believing that we are just bundles of DNA, I don't think it really matters. When they wake up and realize that the courts even recognize the significance of using DNA to identify someone. It will only take time, each new discovery has to go through a period of adjustment for the public to get on board.
20. Why is intelligent design regarded as "junk" science by most evolutionary biologists?
They seem to feel that it is all a hoax and that there is no place for it to be taught. They go to great lengths to try and get people to believe that we all should accept their explanations and that they are right and Intelligent Design is wrong. They would like everyone to believe their sarcastic remarks and explanations for why there could not possibly be a divine mind behind all of this. The arguments are repeated over and over, If there is a God, why does he let people die from cancer, why are there murders in the world, how do we begin to explain all that science has discovered. Science is young, and in reality so are we, we are also very arrogant and presumptuous. There are many things in this world yet to be explained, experienced, and discovered. For the evolutionary biologists to think that they have all the answers already is not acceptable to me, and why is it that people that believe in Intelligent Design have some sort of agenda, but the evolutionary biologists don't?
Natural selection seems to be a theory that works in either case to me. I believe that all living things must evolve over the years because everything changes so much. Enviroments, people, weather, air quality, nothing is permanently fixed, so evolution is a good thing and it should be respected. These arguments between people cause so much anomosity that we lose important information along the way. Why are they so afraid to give all the information to people and let them choose? The students and anyone else wanting to learn, should be given all the information that has been discovered to date and allowed to question or decide on their own. Schools have a responsibility to inform and teach all views of our world, just like we learn about different countries politics we should learn about different countries religions. The information that is presented in school can be standardized just like everything else is in school, and permission slips can be filled out by parents just like thay are for sex education, which also seems to be controversal.
I think this argument has gotten so out of hand, that even the President can't seem to speak for himself in regard to it. The states in our country don't agree, people in the cities don't agree, and even people living in the same household don't agree. This discourse has seeped into almost everyones life in someway or another. Who do we have to thank for this? Both sides are to blame, because they both point fingers at each other and neither group is willing to thoughtfully consider the others viewpoint. This is what causes all the "Junk" that is associated with Intelligent design. It is never ending and there does not seem to be an answer in the near future. Just like the Beyond Belief conferences, there are many very educated people that ardently discuss these topics and there is a clear division between them. We should agree to discuss these issues with respect and to leave out the offensive and sarcastic remarks from both sides. Remove the junk, investigate with a clear and open mind, and be understanding of others when they can'rt or won't see your point of view.
21. What is the underlying theme behind the movie the ZAHIR?
This video has me stumped. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the underlying theme here is that we worship money. Meaning that we are all subserviant to money in different ways. The film was very abstract to me, and I watched it a couple of times to try and figure it out. But I think that we have all felt the power of money, but there really is no physical force that comes from it. It only has the power over us that we give to it. Which for most of us is quite a bit. Even the man in the movie seem to stop functioning because he felt the coin, or the power of it had taken him over.
The part where he talked about saying the name of God over and over to be closer, which by the way was my favorite part of the video where your watching the dancers and it fades to light dancing on the water, I have worked with children that struggle with reading and one of the methods we use to teach them is to say it, write it, and use it forty times, this is the only way your brain will actually retain it. (I have no proof that this works, with the exception that some of the children did eventually begin to read better).
22. How can little things that jiggle reveal the universe around us(hint: think of the movie of the same title).
I believe the video was refering to the fact that everything is made up of tiny atoms that are in constant motion, hence the jiggle. Because we are just being able to study these, new things about our universe is discovered daily. This is an interesting thing to me now in my life because everything we know or knew can change as we continue to advance our technology and reveal things around us that we didn't even know were there. Maybe sometime in the future we will be able to uncover the mysteries of the universe, but I think we should do it with a respect and caution.
Mr. Feynman's quote, " What I can not create, I do not understand", is so true for so many scientists. They have practiced the scientific method for so long that they may have lost that part of themselves that allows for faith, love, compassion. All of these are not something that can be made in a test tube, but you don't see to many people attacking love or compassion. There is no element or electron, proton, and neutron combination to produce it. But you feel the jiggle in your stomach when the love of your life walks into the room, or your children. You feel the jiggle when you have showed another human being, or animal compassion. These may seem like very small things, but in the scope of the universe they are huge, and they have only been found here.
This was one of my favorite short videos that should be used in High School science classes. Because everything is made up of tiny atoms that are in constant motion, I think that the title is referring to to the the constant changes. If we could only figure this out we would be able to understand the universe. The remark made by Mr. Feynman, "What I can not create, I do not understand", I think possibly hits the nail on the head for all the scientists out there. There are many people who need to know, no have to know, how things work, where did they come from, and why, scientists. Then there are the people that feel comfortable with existing in the world without ever asking these questions because they feel there is a higher purpose that will be revealed in time, religious people.
The four forces mentioned in the video, gravity, strong and weak, nuclear reaction, and electromagnetism are all affected by the little things that jiggle. We are all made up of energy and moving in and around space. Over the last few decades we have made great advancements in science and we have been able to break things down to the smallest, and densest particles, the little things that jiggle. Now just because we have broke them down, it does not mean that we understand them. Study after study we learn more and more, just like with human DNA, tiny strands that make up the human race, we just found and are trying to learn how it works, why it works, and of course, can we find a way to control it.
23. Why is fundamentalism a mental disease, according to the movie of the same title?
In this movie the narrator expresses the belief that evolution explains everything so well that it eliminates the need for God. It basically said that because of the advancement of science, and the ability to date how old the earth is and the fossil records that anyone that still believes in Intelligent design is crazy. It said that creationism is taught by those that can not think. Which then explains the title of this movie, because everyone that has believed in this has some kind of mental illness, all the way back to the beginning. But the maker of this movie believes that it is easier to believe that we evolved from apes, or some other organism, and that it evolved into us.
This is becoming so frustrating because we are continually hearing about the negative, in my mind, about Intelligent design. I think it would be better to here both sides to gether and rebuttals to the accusations. I must admit that it makes me feel uncomfortable because I can't quote information to support my beliefs. I can see where the evolution plays a role in our advancement in this world. But where did the original atom, molecule come from. How did something so small, so compressed, with such a large mass, suddenly explode into this world and everything that comes with it. Where did it come from? How did it get there? What caused all the right things to happen to create all the life here? This is making it so much easier to see why there have been wars between people and countries. If we all were not mentally ill before all the discrepancies will make us that way.
I have not read the bible from front to back but I have studied different parts of it and one thing that I learned was that it is not meant to be read literally. For each person, each time it is read, different interpretations can be taken from the information. Even though it said God created the world in certain number of days, what did days mean then. I don't personally believe that it was human made days, it could of been something more equal to years, who knows? I mean these types of things keep changing as we keep evolving. Another good example, one from science, is our solar system. When I went to school we were taught that there were nine planets, well my children are being taught something different now. None of this, evolution or creationism is a certainity. So even if it may seem easier for some people to believe only in evolution or others to believe in creationism, I'm happy to stick with my belief that it is a combination of the two, and I don't believe that any of us are suffering from a mental illness.
24. Name eight common fallacies when arguing for a position. Be sure to give examples, perhaps drawn from your own life, for each of them.
This is an interesting website, I even showed it to my daughter because she is in Honors enlish and they are always studying things like this. A Fallacy is a mistake, and a "Logical" fallacy is a mistake in reasoning. The following are the eight I chose to write about.
1. Ad Hominem Fallacy- It is an irrelavant personal premisses about your opponent- I think everyone probably uses this one, especially if your married. Whenever my husband and I have a disagreement about something, one of us will bring up something about the other to deviate from the discussion.
2.Bandwagon- refers to joining a cause because of it's popularity- This happens alot with politics, people will decide to join in support of a particular canidate because they are turning out to be the most popular, they don't want to be left behind so they jump on the bandwagon.
3. Bad Company - Guilt by association- I know this will be a popular one because almost every teenager has heard this from their parents. You don't have to be participating in a bad activity you only have to be around your friends when thery are doing it to be guilty also.
4. Gamblers- based on a mistake, namely a failure to understand statistical independence. What makes a sequence random is that it's members are statiscally independent of each other.- This one refers to my husband, a gambler, he truly believes that gambling is an investment because he could win more than he gambles, needless to say we both still have jobs and work for a living. He is lucky sometimes though.
5. One sidedness- presents only evidence favoring it's conclusion, and ignores or downplays the evidence- My children use this against me and I use this against them. They agrue that they need their freedom and that they should be able to hang out late with friends. I argue they are to young to be staying out late and they are not mature enough to know all the dangers. It goes on and on.
6. Texas Sharp Shooter- Someone will assume something without facts to back it up.- This happens all the time to my son. It does not matter if he did it or not his sisters are going to blame him. He goes through their rooms, he takes their money, he plays with their stuff, the list goes on and on. But the allegations against him are not factual.
6. Two wrongs make a right- attempt to justify a wrong action by pointing out another wrong action- All my children use this one, especially if one is in trouble for something, then we find out all kinds of things that the others have done.
7. Wishful thinking- believing something because of a desire "wish" that it be true- Unfortunately this is me, I tend to always believe the best of people because I want it to be true, even though sometimes I'm wrong.
8. Black or White- (either/or)- Gives you a sense of control by making you think you can work out whats going to happen next- I have one daughter that see's everything this way. There is no gray area, only black and white, right or wrong. She is very difficult to reason with sometimes.
The reason it is important to understand these fallacies is because it will make you better at reasoning. You need to understand what is wrong in a discussion so that you can communicate better.
25. Provide your own critical analysis (using the terminology learned in this class, etc.) of the current "war on terrorism" as waged by the USA. Your argument can be either pro or con or both, provided that you substantiate your reasoning.
To start I don't believe that it is a real war about terrorism. A war is a conflict carried on by force of arms against an active hostility, or conflict where as terrorism is the use of violence, and threats to intimidate, coerce and put people in a state of fear, as defined by the dictionary. We are definitely trying to fight against the terrorists but we have not been at war. If we really want to fight against terrorism then we would work at starting a dialogue, an honest dialogue, with them to work out an agreement regarding the causes of their unhappiness. What we are doing is contributing to the terrorism. They are not going to go away, and because they are not recognizable we are not going to be able to find them. In the lecture by Mr. Juergenmeyer, he talks with one of the revolutionaries and asks him why he is doing this, the reply he received was that you have to fight when your faith is on the line, and that they will fight forever because they are fighting for their God. There is no way to win this fight with weapons, it will have to be fought by appealing to the morality of both sides. This however is based on that the war is really about terroism and not some other agenda, like money, oil, or control.
We have lost many young soilders and the media really uses this to keep us riled up, so that they can boost ratings and get interviews from family and friends. But what about the people living in the country where the fighting is going on? Their losses are immeasureable also, and we do not even begin to understand because it's being fought in their homes and in their country. This is a no win situation as long as the fighting continues, someone is going to have to stand up and stop the madness. The united States in probably the strongest country in the world and if we would like to remain that way we seriously need to start using our minds to figure out a way to co-exist on this planet. It would be much easier to shut down their borders, allow anyone out that does not want to live that way anymore and keep the others until the controversy can be resolved.
If on the other hand, this is not about terrorism but some hidden agenda of our government, then we all need to become more active and investigate what is the real reasons behind all of this. I have a son that I would not feel comfortable sending over there for the reasons that have been suggested. As much as I would like to see gas prices drop and the value of the American dollar increase, none of it is worth the death or damage that is the fallout from this battle. We should be spending the billions of dollars finding, and funding new ways to make energy and fuel that will help our entire planet. We live on a planet with limited, not unlimited resources, we need to take better care. In conclusion, I'm definitely against the "War against Terrorism", but I'm adamentaly for our military personnel and their safety. We need to support them by holding our government accountable for what they are choosing to do, and we need to be responsible for allowing them to cover up or not forthcoming with the real agenda for us being there.
26. (very important question, don't skip it): In the Beyond Belief conference there was much heated discussion about religion and itsplace. Provide a 750 word or more review of the entire series. Whose arguments were most persuasive? Whose arguments were less so? BE SPECIFIC.
I'm finding these people participating in this conference to be more fascinating as it goes on. I also like the format, where speakers come back up and talk about questions that arise during other speakers. I am also surprised to find that I like most of the speakers. I think that I had a definite preconceived idea about people that did not believe in God or religion. I don't believe that I thought of them in a good way, and for the most part these people have proven to be intelligent, compassionate, and thoughtful. Where my preconceived idea was that to participate in atheism was to be unkind, thoughtless, and condemned. I am grateful for this enlightenment, and although I do not believe that my feelings have drastically change in regards to religion, I have a more informed and thoughtful idea about the feelings of those that do not believe in the same things as I do. So after watching almost twenty hours of video, with I believe twenty six speakers, I am a more thoughtful person towards science and religion, but I'm not going to give up on my faith.As I watched this series over the past eight weeks, and I had to go back and re-listen in some cases, I began making a list of the speakers that I enjoyed verse the ones I could hardly stand to listen to. I have to admit that it is partially on mannerisms or speech that made me like or dislike the speaker. The information given was rarely the reason for dislike with the exception of Mr. Weinberg and Mr. Dawkins. I can not seem to make myself open to a person with his sarcastic and arrogant way of talking. There were others that I might not of totally agreed with but I was able to keep an open mind to what they were saying. I do not see this disagreement ending any time soon however. The main reason being is that we are not meant to agree on everything. I think it is our human nature to question, and I think that here are people that have to have definitive answers or proof, and there are those that can accept on faith. They are both okay, but how are we going to be able to both cross the same bridge when we come to it? Well I think that we will also fall back on our human nature and look out for each other. It is not going to matter who was right or wrong. Sam Harris is a very intelligent man with very valid concerns regarding the Muslims, Richard Dawkins is inquisitive and persistent and has valid concerns regarding Evangelism, Richard Sloan feels that Religion is a big seller and he is right, we all need some decent reading material and movies with some moral value, Scott Atron feels it is scapegoating, one of my favorite speakers Mahzarin Banaji said, "When you study humans you see very little of God", but she also said, "The goal, motives, and function of religion, is to learn about God to have a relationship, therapeutic politics, and personal wholeness." You can see where they feel there is some good in believing, but I feel their main problem is that they don't see it as being true. The most convincing speaker for me, and this was hard to pick because I really did like several of them, would have to be Melvin Konner. He was not the best speaker but he had very interesting information. I am in total agreement with him regarding the methods and accusations of most of the other speakers. I really feel this hurts their cause, being sarcastic and arrogant is only going to promote arguments and damaged relationships. We all need to remember we all here searching, working and living on the same small planet, and that there is a population that chooses to believe in science and all the discoveries made and to be made, then there is the part of the population that has faith in a supreme being, or power. I think that the conference is a necessary and good place to get dialogue going on between these people and that they should always make sure to have a good balance between the two theories so that productive conversations can go on. In conclusion, I would like to say that my feelings regarding these issues have been put through some very interesting tests these past few weeks. I have a new respect for science and people no faith, and I have this class to thank for that. I'll end this with the two quotes that I liked the best, that Mr. Konner used to close his lecture with, the first by Dawkins, and edited by Mr. Konner as he read it, "Let each man or woman hope and believe, what he or she can", and Mr. Konner's quote, "The people that believe in the human species, and the human species that believes in God".
27. What was the favorite thing you learned this semester?
There really has been so much information that it is hard to pick out one specific thing. I think that I will continue to think about many things that I have been exposed to over the past several weeks. It was a short time to take in all that we have read and all that we have listened to. So if I must select one thing as of today, because we all know we are constantly absorbing and changing with every second that ticks by us, then I would have to say that I have a deeper understanding of the views of people around me. I lived in my own world believing what I believed, without questioning or worrying about how or why I felt that way. Now things have changed, even if it is only a small change for now.
My eyes are open alittle wider, they are seeing alittle better. I'm still not and probably will never be an agressive agruer, however I will question things that I feel are incorrect, or I will stand up for my feelings and beliefs. I think we waste alot of our lives just passing the days by, runnung the kids to school, cleaning the house, watching the reruns on the television. I have taken them for granted, the technology that went behind the car, the house, the television, the phone. I have a new appreciation of science that I hope to be able to pass on to my children, and their children. I've a new found curiosity for things and I have learned new skills to be able to investigate some things for myself. This old girl has learned some new tricks.
My beliefs and religious views have not changed entirely, but they have broadened. I have and want to believe that there is good in all people. I choose to believe that there is more to this life then just this short existence here on earth. I agree with Mr. Polkinghorne that we can blend science and our religious belief to help us understand how our world works. This understanding, for me is a peaceful one. I will always others right to choose what they believe, whether it agrees with mine or not, but I know the conversations will be far more interesting now, because of the knowledge that I have aquired from the information in this class. Thank you
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